In November, Essex County Supervisors approved extending the county occupancy tax to include private rentals effective January 1st. Now officials are finding that a number of property owners are resisting paying the tax or are unaware they are supposed to pay it.

The $35 million Essex County Jail and Public Safety Building houses the county’s jail, 911 center and other public safety services including the sheriff and state police. Now, a committee of the county Board of Supervisors has approved $63,000 to repair a problem that has been plaguing the facility since it opened less than 9 years ago.

Essex County’s tentative budget was released Monday for review by the Board of Supervisors. The county manager presented a spending plan with an 8 percent tax levy, well over the New York state cap of .73 percent.

Clinton, Franklin, and Essex Counties are the latest in New York to join Operation Lifesaver – an effort by law enforcement agencies to use technology to speed search and rescue operations. This afternoon, sheriffs’ departments from the three counties demonstrated the technology that they hope will save lives.

The Tewksbury, Massachusetts Police Department got national headlines this week after it was forced to pay a $500 ransom to hackers who held the department’s data hostage. Lawmakers in Essex County are taking steps to make sure that — or worse — doesn’t happen to them.

The Essex County Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting Thursday to discuss the county’s proposed budget and determine if the preliminary 2015 levy can be lowered from an anticipated 9.4 percent.

A new report has been issued on the economy of Essex County, New York. While it indicates the year round population is declining and Essex County is moving towards a tourism-based economy, most of the data doesn’t surprise the region’s economic leaders.

Officials in Essex County, New York have been working to close a 13-million dollar budget gap in the 2013 budget. While they hope a pending sale of the county-run nursing home will make a difference, they say mandate relief from the state would be more helpful.

The rural Adirondack County has one of the lowest tax rates in New York State and has been using their fund balance to hold the line on property tax increases. Essex County Manager Dan Palmer says that may not be possible much longer.